Player Discussion Jeremy Swayman: VII- Management Speaks

[BruinDust]

What comes next in the Bruins, Swayman standoff?

Cam Neely and the Boston Bruins made headlines when he commented on the standoff between the team and Jeremy Swayman. Elliotte Friedman has some thoughts on where the two parties can go from here.

www.sportsnet.ca

Thank goodness that all this negotiation stuff really is just a friendly back-and-forth of comparable goalie contracts and nothing else like personal feelings or how the team truly values the player ever enters into the equation.

 

[SPLBRUIN]

Just now from Friedman:


SO WHERE ARE WE?

Until Monday, this is where I believe everything stood:

• Neely said he directly asked Swayman if the goalie wished to be a Bruin, and the answer was a resounding yes. I’m under the impression Swayman has always pushed for maximum term. After initially offering contracts of various lengths, the Bruins were satisfied with Swayman’s response and focused on eight years.

• Despite that, the two sides remain so far apart on salary that this won’t be solved unless player or team completely caves in or changes their minds. I’ve heard some softening of positions, but the gap was millions per season to start with.

• Gross’s statement claims that, prior to the media conference, the Bruins never got to $64M. I think they were close, maybe around $60M-$62M. Swayman/Gross probably aren’t as annoyed about the number itself as they are about it being mentioned in the first place. I read what Neely said as this: “We’re going to 64 and no farther. That’s it.” We will see. David Pastrnak pushed the Bruins farther than they wanted to go, but he was unrestricted. Swayman saw that success, but he is restricted.

• Two weeks ago, I started to hear rumours of a possible trade. The Bruins wouldn’t comment, but it was clear they told teams they weren’t considering it and wanted to keep him. Again, we will see if anything has changed. Remember, other teams are allowed to speak to Swayman because he’s an unsigned free agent. They know what he wants.

...

We know Swayman wants to be a Bruin, albeit on his terms, and we’re not anywhere close to that. For the moment, however, money is secondary. During this pause, he must ask himself, “Can I move past the bitterness of this negotiation?”

If the answer is yes, he can be a Bruin. An excellent one. If the answer is no, he will flourish somewhere else.

What comes next in the Bruins, Swayman standoff?

Cam Neely and the Boston Bruins made headlines when he commented on the standoff between the team and Jeremy Swayman. Elliotte Friedman has some thoughts on where the two parties can go from here.

www.sportsnet.ca

In reading this, for the 1st time I think it's possible that the Bruins may actually be forced to trade Swayman if he indeed is holding out for 9 mil/ year plus, that's crazy money for his resume and I'm a big Swayman fan. Fortunately the Bruins D is much stronger then it has been in prior years to support Korps.

 

[Oates2Neely]

I read somewhere that Gross gave the Leafs a hard number (92m) when negotiating Nylander contract. Trieveling was rumored to be bothered that Gross wouldn’t agree to negotiate. Nylander had all the leverage as he was going to be a UFA. Trieveling finally caved and signed the 92m contract. Gross never budged.

 

[Bradely]

Bridge deal. See how it goes from there. This will become a problem and distraction.

Season is starting soon. With how this goes, I can see, Sway being disappointed by the Bruins and if gets 10M/year on a 8 years deal, he will be happy, but he better perform to that level .............

 

[Greek_physique]

I'm gonna guess no announcement on a signing tonight.

Our fax machine is broken

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

I just hope both sides are having fun

 

[Lobster57]

Bridge deal. See how it goes from there. This will become a problem and distraction.

Season is starting soon. With how this goes, I can see, Sway being disappointed by the Bruins and if gets 10M/year on a 8 years deal, he will be happy, but he better perform to that level .............

If Sway signs a bridge deal he will be gone once it's up, if not sooner. The team better have a succession plan for the goalie position

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Then someone is lying and needs to lose their job.

Neely wouldn't lose his job.

 

[GordonHowe]

Sway was taken advantage of by his agent (who should be fired). So once Sway signs remember he was just naive, and we can still like him.

I hope he is signed soon.

That would be nice.

At this point, however, acrimony reigns.

Which is this Lewis Gross character's MO.

Scumbag.

Straight up.

William Nylander - who, one assumes, followed his agent's advice and subsequently did not play for Toronto until 2 December of that season, the same scenario now facing the Bruins and their would-be #1 goaltender - might whisper a realistic word in Jeremy's ear.

Unless this ends quickly, which is to say within the next week or two at most, the matter will not end well for either party.

In that case, as posited previously, the Bruins should, and will, trade Swayman for best possible return "at a time of our choosing."

For the record, I hope a deal is made and have always believed Jeremy to be Boston's goaltender of the future.

Potentially, he makes the Bruins a legitimate Cup contender.

Unfortunately, at present, bridges are burning.

 

[Oates2Neely]

Prediction: Ottawa is out of the playoff race by mid January, Ullmark sees Swayman not signed & deteriorating relationship w team. Ullmark informs Ottawa he has no interest in resigning there. Ullmark forces a trade back to Boston & resign here in the offseason 3 years/ 5.5m per

 

[JAD]

Been turning this over on and off all day. I think there are solid arguments to make on both the side of the player, and on the side of management. But I think it comes down to one thing, for me. I don’t want my team to end up like the Maple Leafs, where they seem to give players anything they ask, and are a perpetual failure come playoff time. Swayman asking for and getting the moon doesn’t sit well with me. So I have to side with management.

And I agree. The Bruins have limited cap space this year without disrupting the rest of the team ... this year and future years.

 

[RoccoF14]

Prediction: Ottawa is out of the playoff race by mid January, Ullmark sees Swayman not signed & deteriorating relationship w team. Ullmark informs Ottawa he has no interest in resigning there. Ullmark forces a trade back to Boston & resign here in the offseason 3 years/ 5.5m per

Works for me....

 

[Bradely]

If Sway signs a bridge deal he will be gone once it's up, if not sooner. The team better have a succession plan for the goalie position

Read he wanted to be a Bruins.

If the case, at some point Bruins and Sway need to meet. Blaming his agent or Sway or Cam or anybody is currently useless. It's business, and both are arguing their point without reaching themselves.

If it is impossible to meet, than trade him.

 

[Beyonder]

It's an annoying situation but I still think it will get done, whether sooner or later. It's not helping to trade salvos in the press, that will only push the sides further apart and all parties seem prickly about the state of things. It's feeling like somebody else needs to get involved in the negotiations, quietly behind the scenes, to ease the tension. But I don't know who that would be - has CJ ever gone hands on with a difficult negotiation (he doesn't seem like the obvious solution)?

It's hard to imagine them really trading Swayman. What teams that could use him in the near term have the combination of cap room and assets to trade for him... and are a destination Swayman would sign long term with? At this time of year, it just seems extremely unlikely.

So what is the latest, best speculation about what Swayman is really asking for? And what kind of gap exists at this alleged $64M figure?

 

[LSCII]

That would be nice.

At this point, however, acrimony reigns.

Which is this Lewis Gross character's MO.

Scumbag.

Straight up.

William Nylander - who, one assumes, followed his agent's advice and subsequently did not play for Toronto until 2 December of that season, the same scenario now facing the Bruins and their would-be #1 goaltender - might whisper a realistic word in Jeremy's ear.

Unless this ends quickly, which is to say within the next week or two at most, the matter will not end well for either party.

In that case, as posited previously, the Bruins should, and will, trade Swayman for best possible return "at a time of our choosing."

For the record, I hope a deal is made and have always believed Jeremy to be Boston's goaltender of the future.

Potentially, he makes the Bruins a legitimate Cup contender.

Unfortunately, at present, bridges are burning.

So an agent is a scumbag for doing his job well and getting his client more money from an employer than they wanted to pay? I hope the next time you get offered a raise at work you refuse it and tell them you make more than enough…

 

[KillerMillerTime]

There are laws?

He could certainly be sued by Swayman if he intentionally withheld a new offer with nothing in his agreement with Swayman for it.

 

[JOKER 192]

I'm starting to get to where I'm thinking both Sway and his agent can go f*** themselves.

 

[BruinDust]

Swayman should fire Gross and negotiate the contract himself. I'm sure Swayman has internet access and can look up comparable goalie contracts on PuckPedia and goalie stats on Hockey Reference.

Why even pay Lewis Gross, seems like a waste of money to me, considering all that is being discussed behind closed doors between the two parties are comparable goalie contracts.

 

[JAD]

He said…he said…

Technically that could be true ...
Hypothetical scenario:
It could be that during previous negotiations the Bruins said they were willing to go higher and asked Swayman/Gross if they would come down on their demands/requested salary ... to which they said a firm No. And that is where things previously were left.

Sweeney and Neely may have discussed amongst themselves that 64 mil was the max they could go.

Neely only initially said "he had 64 million reasons why Swayman should be a Bruin."
By him saying that , it could be construed as a verbal offer.
He may have later said it was an offer ... I don't remember at this point.

In any event 64 mil is now on the table , ball is now in Swayman's camp.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Exactly my point why it would be easier for Neely to prove.

You guys realize these contracts are signed over docusign or something similar right? There’s an internet trail for all of these.

If there’s an offer it’s written and documented somewhere.

I haven't seen anything by Neely or Gross that says they are lying. Neely may have decided to up the pressure on Gross by publically announcing a $$$ they are willing to discuss an amount, partly out of frustration. Was the first Gross heard if it. So neither guy is lying.

It won't cost Neely his job whatsoever.

 

[SwayHeyKid]

What comes next in the Bruins, Swayman standoff?

Cam Neely and the Boston Bruins made headlines when he commented on the standoff between the team and Jeremy Swayman. Elliotte Friedman has some thoughts on where the two parties can go from here.

www.sportsnet.ca

Thank goodness that all this negotiation stuff really is just a friendly back-and-forth of comparable goalie contracts and nothing else like personal feelings or how the team truly values the player ever enters into the equation.

So a few things.

Sounds like Neely wasn't truthful (shocker)
Sounds like Gross was overdramatic (shocker)
Sounds like the 6.5 and 9.5 may have both been very close to starting offers
Sounds like the B's are making more of an effort to reach a deal
Sounds like the B's view him close to Saros and a notch below Hellebuyck
Sounds like Swayman views himself closer to Vaz and Bob
Sounds like it may drag out close to the deadline
Sounds like a trade has a better chance of happening with each passing week
Sounds like Neely made a huge mistake today and things may be irrepairable

 

[Ace0813]

I’m so tired of this negotiation.

 

[the negotiator]

What is noticeable is that there has been no noise of another team sniffing around with an interest in paying what Swayman is supposedly looking for and giving up the compensation picks ( likely 2 firsts, a second and a third)

At some point in a negotiation you end up painting yourself into a corner..... sit out the year, explore Europe or the KHL or try to get a face saving raise to $8.25 AAV ($66m)

Going to be an interesting next few days

 

[Beyonder]

I'm sure it is not helping at all that the Bruins will need to cut some $ from the payroll to fit in Swayman at any of these higher $ AAVs we're hearing about. They're dancing on the knife edge at $8M. If it's (much) more than that, they not only have to swallow an AAV pill they don't want to, they also need to carve out room at the expense of the roster.

So... it's not just a matter of signing Swayman it's also a matter of making peace with whatever 2024 roster fallout ensues. How would people feel if they get Swayman done... but need to deal somebody pronto making $1-2M or more per? I don't find it ideal to have Korpisalo around at his cap hit. That's a double edged sword. On the one hand, he is insurance (if you say so) if Swayman isn't in net. On the other hand, his cap hit makes it harder to make the cap/roster work once Swayman is signed.

If I have the scenario wrong, I'm sure somebody will correct me.

 

[JAD]

Sway was taken advantage of by his agent (who should be fired). So once Sway signs remember he was just naive, and we can still like him.

I hope he is signed soon.

That would be nice.

At this point, however, acrimony reigns.

Which is this Lewis Gross character's MO.

Scumbag.

Straight up.

William Nylander - who, one assumes, followed his agent's advice and subsequently did not play for Toronto until 2 December of that season, the same scenario now facing the Bruins and their would-be #1 goaltender - might whisper a realistic word in Jeremy's ear.

Unless this ends quickly, which is to say within the next week or two at most, the matter will not end well for either party.

In that case, as posited previously, the Bruins should, and will, trade Swayman for best possible return "at a time of our choosing."

For the record, I hope a deal is made and have always believed Jeremy to be Boston's goaltender of the future.

Potentially, he makes the Bruins a legitimate Cup contender.

Unfortunately, at present, bridges are burning.

I've been somewhat hard on the expectations of the Swayman camp in theses negotiations. And I truly hope that things get resolved quickly. I've made my opions known elsewhere on this matter and they really have not changed. Whatever the Bruins finally decide upon it is ultimately their choice and I hope Swayman is a part of the team and does well for years to come.

Swayman has shown to be a good goalie, he has the potential to be a great goalie.
What we tend to forget is that historically goalies have always been a little off their rocker, crazy, out there ... in their own world. Who else finds enjoyment in having 3 inch hard rubber disks shot at them repeatedly?

If and when this is settled and he's back out there on the ice, ... If the rest of the team is okay and fine with his seemingly cocky expectations and he's working hard to win games and get the team back to the finals and possibly a cup. Then I'm fine with him too.